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Chapter 2: Red

Something was wrong with Blake.

For the last hour, Ruby had been trying to understand the obscure notes of her history homework. Normally, history was one of her better subjects, despite the rather obscure points Professor Oobleck always asked for in the homework, but tonight she just couldn't focus.

Ruby knew she wasn't really the best choice for team leader, despite her friends telling her otherwise. She wasn't as smart as Weiss, or calm and collected like Blake, or even as confident as Yang. She had trouble focusing, acted a bit impulsive, and nearly always missed the point of whatever she was being told.

And yet, everyone, from her teammates to Team JNPR to the headmaster himself, all believed that she was the one who should lead, despite her thoughts to the contrary. She didn't get it.

She was grateful for their faith in her, truly she was, but she didn't get it.

But Ruby Rose was not a quitter. If everyone thought she could be a leader, then gosh darn it, she was going to be the best leader she could! Even if her book-smarts were a bit… lacking…

Yes, Ruby knew she was lacking in some areas, but she was determined to make up for it in others. And the very best way she could think of was by knowing her team.

Yang was easy. Ruby had known her Big Sis since… forever, really. What she liked, what she hated, favorite places to go, things to do, even the things she feared the most (which Sister Law dictated she never reveal to anyone, ever).

Weiss was a bit tougher. Any and all inquiries about her family brought up 'The Wall', as Ruby had started to call it when Weiss' voice got low and her eyes hardened. All Ruby knew was that she had an older sister who she didn't talk to very much, but seemed to make Weiss a little sad when she talked about her, and her father, who Ruby got the feeling was a man she never wanted to meet. Her mother hadn't been mentioned once, which told Ruby that the woman was either worse than Weiss' father, or was dead, neither something Ruby wanted to dwell on.

Aside from family, however, Ruby had actually discovered a surprising amount about her partner. Mainly, Weiss had a love for rather simple things, despite her upper class upbringing. Small things like movies, window shopping, even sweets. Once, on a trip to Vale, Ruby had dragged Weiss into an ice cream parlor because she was hungry. The look on Weiss' face when she bit into what, to Ruby, was just a regular vanilla ice cream cone, eyes big and practically sparkling, would be etched into Ruby's mind as one of the cutest things she had ever seen, not that Weiss would ever admit it. Come to think of it, maybe it was because she grew up in high society that she took pleasure in things Ruby considered normal.

Weiss also valued truth and honesty, despite her evasion on topics she didn't want to talk about (something Ruby would have to talk to her about at some point). She was very slow to trust people, but seemed to be rather loyal once you had earned her trust. However, she was very unforgiving if she believed that trust had been misplaced, and a bit impulsive when it came to condemning said alleged trust-breaker (look no further than the thing with Blake a few weeks ago).

Speaking of Blake, however, that was the one that troubled Ruby a bit. Ruby knew even less about her past than she did Weiss'. She was a former member of the White Fang… and that was it. No family, no former friends, places she'd lived or hung out at; nothing. The one time Ruby had asked about her family, all she received was a brief blank stare, before Blake put on a rather forced smile and gently brushed her off.

However, Ruby had managed to piece a few things together about Blake as a person. She liked seafood (for a now obvious reason) but also had a taste for sweet fruits, like apples and tangerines. She liked athletics, mostly things to do with acrobatics or fast footwork (got the proof on that one at the arcade. Blake wiped the floor with her at that dance-rhythm game, and seemed to enjoy doing it). She preferred the peace and quiet, though was willing to put up with a surprising amount of noise around her to enjoy a good book. She was always very calm, very mellow, and seemed to not let anything bother her for too long.

That was what made Ruby worried. That was how Blake had acted for the few months she had known her. The only time she had lost that cool was her fight with Weiss, and even then Blake had seemed to return to her 'normal' after all was said and done.

So what was wrong with her now?

Ruby looked down at Blake from her bunk. At first glance, nothing seemed out of place, just quiet ol' Blake, her nose buried in a book. But, as Ruby had noted, something seemed… off.

The first hint was just after the movie had ended. As she and Yang had bickered with Weiss over the merits of watching bad movies for the fun of it, Ruby had seen Blake move towards her bag. Not that strange, except for how… stiff Blake seemed to be moving, like she was on a mission. Then there was her just staring into space for, like, five minutes afterwards. And then the thing with her wallet…

Ruby frowned. Blake… lied. She had her wallet when they were at the arcade. Ruby saw it when Blake swapped some lien for game tokens. And she never went to the cafeteria after that, they all went back to the dorm as a group.

Ruby stared at Blake, looking her over. Blake reading a book was normal, this was not. When she read, Blake usually held her books down a bit so you could always see her eyes trailing across the pages. This time, she held the book higher so her face was blocked. Her shoulders were tense, and she seemed to be clutching the book rather hard, judging by the light shake in her hands.

A sharp movement caught Ruby's attention. At first she thought she had imagined it, but then it happened again: every few seconds, Blake's ever-present bow would twitch sharply.

Ruby was really worried now. Even though they all now knew Blake was a Faunus, said Faunus still never took off that bow. Ruby had seen her cat ears only once, very briefly that night on the docks, and never since. Heck, she doubted Yang or Weiss had seen them at all yet. Knowing they were there, Ruby had grown rather impressed with how Blake was able to keep them so still all the time, never letting others in on the secret.

Which is what made their frantic twitching now all the more concerning.

Ruby chewed on her pencil nervously. Her eyes turned to her partner, calmly doing schoolwork with an ease that made Ruby slightly envious. The leader put down her textbook and pencil, and made to get down from her bunk. Maybe Weiss-

SLAM!

Ruby jumped as the silence was shattered by a large bang, nearly falling off the bed. The noise startled Weiss into dropping her pencil. They both snapped their heads toward the noise-

Ruby felt her heart clench.

Blake had slammed her book shut, dropping it in the process, giving Ruby a clear view of her Faunus friend. Her hands were clenched into fists so tight her knuckles were white. Her face was very red, thin lines of sweat trailing down her forehead. Her eyes were shut tight, and Ruby couldn't tell if the moisture in the area around them was more sweat or the start of tears. Her mouth was twisted into a pained grimace.

Ruby quickly turned to Weiss, who returned her look with one of confusion and concern.

As Weiss stood up, Ruby leapt off of her bunk and dashed across the room, stopping right in front of Blake.

She's shaking, Ruby noticed with a frown.

Ruby bent down slightly. "Blake?"

Blake's eyes snapped open. "R-Ruby?"

Ruby frowned at her confused tone. "Blake, are you okay? You don't look so well."

Blake stared, before flinching back, eyes screwed shut. "I-I'm f-fine, Ruby,-" was she clenching her teeth? "-j-just a little… a little warm…"

She's lying again. A bead of sweat slid down Blake's forehead. On a whim, Ruby wiped it away with the back of her hand. Her eyes widened as she held it there, Blake's eyes flying open at the contact.

"Blake, you're burning up! I think you have a fever or something-"

Ruby stopped as Blake's wide eyes slowly slid closed. Ruby opened her mouth to say something, when she felt Blake lean forward, pressing her forehead against her hand. "Blake?"

Blake ignored her, dipping her head a bit, her hair touching Ruby's hand.

Ruby grew more confused as Blake started to rub against her hand, pushing it higher up her hair line. "Blake, are you feeling-"

She fell silent as Blake dipped her head farther, a small smile forming on her lips. Ruby nearly gasped as her fingers brushed against the bow, the knot holding it in place loosening.

The leader was at a loss for words as Blake rubbed one, two, three more times, until one side of the bow fell back, and Ruby felt soft fur beneath her fingers.

"Oh," was all she could manage.

"Wow…" Ruby turned her head to find Weiss right behind her, pale blue eyes glued to Blake's revealed cat ear.

Blake kept rubbing until she let out a small huff, her smile faltering as she began rubbing slightly harder against Ruby's limp hand.

Does she want me to do something?

With no other ideas, Ruby lifted her hand slightly and scratched behind Blake's ear.

Blake shuddered suddenly before relaxing. Ruby felt Blake start to vibrate, and a deep rumble filled the air.

"Is she-? Is she purring?!" Weiss said in a stunned whisper.

Ruby was just as shocked. She scratched harder, and the rumbling grew louder. Ruby felt the corners of her mouth perk up.

Is this a Faunus thing? She wanted someone to scratch her ears? No, that can't be it, why would she feel this warm?

For about a minute, Ruby stood there scratching Blake's ears, the rest of the bow coming loose. Weiss watched on, entranced by the spectacle before her.

Just as soon as it had started, Blake stopped purring. She lifted her head, Ruby's hand still curled around her ear.

I guess she wants to talk now. "Blake?"

Blake opened her eyes, and Ruby felt her heart jump.

Blake's yellow eyes were narrowed like a cat's, her irises narrow slits. She smiled softly.

"Blake? Are you oka-"

Blake lunged.

It took Ruby's brain a few seconds to process exactly what had happened as she slowly registered the flushed face taking up her vision, the soft but forceful feeling pressing against her lips, the rough texture running over her tongue…

Oh, Blake is kissing me.

…

BLAKE IS KISSING ME!

Ruby felt stuck. Part of her was screaming to push Blake away, to stop this… whatever it was. But another part thought that… it felt… kinda nice.

Ruby's eyes slowly slid closed, Blake giving a hum of contemplation as she leaned into the kiss.

Really nice…

"WHAT THE HELL?!"

Ruby jumped back, feeling like a bucket of ice water had been splashed over her. She opened her eyes to see Blake still in front of her, blinking rapidly as her slitted eyes morphed back to normal. She stared at Ruby, confused, before gasping, eyes widening. She gaped silently, before her head snapped to the side. Ruby followed suit, and nearly jumped back again.

Yang stood in the bathroom door, sleepwear on, hair wet, hands clenched, and eyes a murderous shade of red. When she got no answer, she slowly marched forward, gaze locked on the terrified Faunus, Weiss wisely getting out of her way.

"I repeat: What? The? Hell?!"

Blake's eyes flicked between Yang, Ruby, and a thoroughly confused Weiss as she sputtered for a response. "I-I…"

"'I, I,' what?!" Yang raised her arm a bit, looking about ready to throw a punch.

Ruby's frazzled mind had finally caught up with the situation, and she was about to jump in front of Yang, hoping to give Blake a chance to explain (she can explain, right? I mean, there's a reason she just… kissed me… right?) when Blake beat her to it.

Just as she had a month ago, Blake phased out of existence as a black blur shot across the room. The slam of the bathroom door echoed throughout the room, the click of the lock following soon after.